KARACHI: Twentieth century European art in general and literature in particular have had a lot to do with the issue of how to grapple with memory so that the bitterness of the past could be forgotten or understood. Writers such as Milan Kundera and painters such as Salvador Dali have made memory their subject matter to espouse quite a few of their artistic and philosophical theories. Albanian-born German artist Brigel Gjoka’s theatrical piece titled Eksod on Thursday evening in Napa’s theatre carried the same theme using a different medium of communication: dance.

But it wasn’t just dance through which the artist, along with co-performer Mattia Gandini, tried to put his own spin on the subject: there were video projections, installations and haunting music that supplemented the moves well. Mind you, Gjoka had already told his audience by virtue of a press conference that Eksod meant ‘forced escape’ and the piece was inspired by an Albanian film Rrethi i Kujteses. However, even if the audience didn’t know that, the piece was self-sufficient in terms of interpretation.

It all begins in the dark with glowing balloons immediately grabbing the audience’s attention. They are popped with a certain degree of urgency, as if it is of utmost importance. The tiny colourful lights remain, making the protagonist grope in the dark for something.

When the lights are turned on, the colour white takes centre-stage. The shrinking and expanding of the whiteness is flashes of memory, and there’s white noise all around. Then a man (Gandini) dressed in white appears from behind and starts moving in a jerky manner — fragmented movement of the body. He is followed on stage by Gjoka who first stands in a corner, while Gandini continues with his moves. Lights go off. Gandini follows Gjoka with a torch-like thing and Gjoka gives the impression as if he’s running away from the light.

The piece gains impetus when video projections are seamlessly merged with the two performers’ dance. Now greyness takes over. The footage is a kind of a flashback, again reminding the audience of what role memory plays in individuals’ lives. And finally, the struggle between the two protagonists, perhaps the struggle of memory against forgetfulness.

Eksod, despite the initial technical glitches and delay, worked well on two levels. Firstly, it successfully conveyed how being symbolic can be uncomplicated. Secondly, it proved that quality art communicates before it is understood. Despite the fact that the language that was discreetly used in the piece was foreign to the audience, it wasn’t coded. The electronic music, which for some reason reminded this writer of Depeche Mode’s compositions, was almost note-perfect for the piece.

Eksod, which is part of the National Academy of Performing Arts ongoing theatre festival, will also be staged on Friday.